


harshing the vibe

by Glitched_Fox



Category: Trolls (2016), Trolls World Tour (2020)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Study, During Canon, Gen, Minor Violence, Missing Scene, just. treating a throwaway scene seriously, you know how it is!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24123493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitched_Fox/pseuds/Glitched_Fox
Summary: "Okay, okay, enough!" Trollex hugged Beat a little tighter, wondering if his despair was evident in his expression. "You're harshing the vibe we worked very hard to build to!" The startled screams of the Techno Trolls behind him echoed in his ears.Barb stared at him, a blank look in her eyes for a moment as she processed the words he'd just spoken. Then she laughed."Oh, but by the end of my World Tour, we're all gonna have the same vibe," Barb drawled, and Trollex couldn't tell if she was mocking him. "We're all gonna be one nation of trolls..." she raised her strumming hand and grinned. "Under Rock!"Fills in the blank of Trollex handing over the Techno String as we take a look into what the young king was thinking.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	harshing the vibe

**Author's Note:**

> my brother, staring at me: why are you writing trolls fanfic at 3 am?  
> me, typing this on my phone: because we're quarantined and i've lost control of my life

Trollex's body ached from the force of the blast, the end of his tail stinging from where it had scraped against the coral when he tried to recover. His gaze lingered on the coral for longer than it should have, the confident glow of his heart wavering as he watched the broken pieces plummet to the ground. Already, he was calculating how long it would take to grow back, his heart sinking even further as he realized just how easily Queen Barb could destroy the reef's ecosystem.

He spun around to face her a little faster than he intended, but he managed to not wince as his brand-new injuries were jostled, scooping up Beat Drop Button in his arms as he moved, cradling the little creature to his chest. His best friend, yes, but also the guardian of the Techno String. The string Barb seemed deadset on getting.

"Okay, okay, enough!" He hugged Beat a little tighter, wondering if his despair was evident in his expression. "You're harshing the vibe we worked very hard to build to!" The startled screams of the Techno Trolls behind him echoed in his ears.

Barb stared at him, a blank look in her eyes for a moment as she processed the words he'd just spoken. Then she laughed. She moved her whole body when she laughed, spoke. Her hand ran down the fretboard of her guitar, a muffled scraping sound emitting from the speakers that instilled much more fear into Trollex than similar sounds ever had.

"Oh, but by the end of my World Tour, we're all gonna have the same vibe," Barb drawled, and Trollex couldn't tell if she was mocking him. "We're all gonna be one nation of trolls..." she raised her strumming hand and grinned. "Under Rock!"

Trollex was ready this time for the power chord, dodging the blast of energy, but was still sent spinning around by the stirred currents. He managed to right himself and ignore the burning pain in his chest, looking around desperately before his eyes landed on Beat. Barb followed his gaze, and her grin somehow grew wider. She had to yell to be heard over the riff she was plucking out. "Does that thing have your string?"

Trollex flicked his tail and curled protectively around Beat, sparing him a quick glance. "Be careful, King Trollex..." was all the button had to advise, visibly shaking. Whether from fear or pain or some confusing mix of the two, he wasn't sure.

Barb ran her hand down the fretboard purposefully this time, causing Trollex to flatten his fins against the scraping sound. "Rockers!" she called out again, raising her hand in that odd hand signal. "That fish has got our prize!"

The trolls scattered in the ships started to move, hesitating at the barrier between the air and water formed by their ships. Trollex glanced between them and Beat, then over his shoulder, back at where his mixing booth had once sat.

He swore he felt his heart skip a beat as he stared again at the harsh red break down the structure. His trolls had scattered, hiding amongst the intact coral, but he knew how to look for them. They were scared. They were hurting. The Reef was hurting.

"Okay, okay!" He bit his lip, holding up a hand to emphasize his words. "Stop! I'll give you what you want?"

"What?" said Barb and Beat simultaneously, the former with glee and the latter with betrayal.

Trollex looked down at the button and forced himself to give a strained smile. "It's gonna be alright, little buddy." He hoped it was, anyway. Beat whimpered as Trollex ran his fingers over the circuits at the top of the creature. 

Barb narrowed her eyes. "Ick. Quit stalling and being sappy, dude. You gonna give me your string, or what?" Her fingers took their place in the shape of a chord, a silent threat. Trollex took a shuddered breath, twining Beat's singular blue circuit--the Techno String--around his finger.

"If I give this to you, you'll leave us alone," Trollex said, though his bold statement was more of hesitant question. "You won't hurt my people or the reef anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Barb punctuated her comment with a roll of her eyes. She held out her hand.

Trollex tugged on the Techno String lightly. Beat darted back the moment it was removed, ducking behind Trollex as if to hide. The king himself stared at the string for a moment, smiling despite himself at the few electric notes it provided when he pulled at it. He clutched to his chest, over his heart, and looked back over the reef.

He hated this.

Fins flat, he held up his hand, the string laying in his palm. Barb cackled in her excitement, stumbling forward to reach out and--

Trollex struggled not to laugh as she fell through the barrier of her own ship, bubbles floating up from her as she plunged into the water. Briefly, he wondered if he should help her, but she seemed to figure it out, snatching the string from his hand and climbing back to safety. Surprising underwater dexterity for someone without fins, if you asked him.

She growled, reaching up and squeezing the water out of her mohawk, and glared at Trollex. He couldn't make out her mutterings but he decided he didn't need to try, instead turning his attention to Beat.

"You alright there?"

"Uh-huh. You?"

Trollex laughed, but the sound was empty. He touched his heart lightly. "Been better, but I'll survive." He sighed, shaking his head if to clear it. "We just gotta wait until she clears out, then we can--" 

Beat's eyes widened. "Trollex, look out!"

He spun quick enough to give himself whiplash, but not quick enough to react to Barb before the energy of her song slammed straight into his chest again, sending him tumbling back. He hit the coral hard, distantly hearing a sharp crack, following by an aching pain where his head and back had collided. His vision swam, but he could still see Barb grinning at him. Out of the corner of his eye he watched something a bit more horrifying, claws extended from the sides of one of the ships to pluck trolls out of the water. Techno trolls. His trolls.

"Sorry bro, but I gotta get things to fit _my_ vibe." She strummed another chord, but if it hit, Trollex didn't notice, the pain already bearing down on him. "And I'd hate for you to miss my concert!"

When Trollex woke up, he was decidedly not underwater, pressed up again a collapsing structure of coral anymore. He didn't remember passing out, but he must have. That part didn't surprise him.

He rolled onto his back and then sat up, taking note of the cold floor at walls, the sorry excuse for a cot in the corner, the thick, locked door. What was he doing here? He squinted, thinking. He'd been DJing at a rave per usual, and then Barb's ships appeared, and he... he gave her the Techno string, and then--

He shot up, colliding with the ceiling. He yelped at the hit against his sore body, but the sound turned into a growl as he realized the surface hadn't even dented under his weight. He slammed into the wall instead, and then the other one, and then back. He didn't have claws, but he tried scratching at the fabric on the walls anyway. He had to get out of here. He had to get to his people. He had to make sure they were okay, he had to rescue them, he had to..! 

And the reef. Oh no, surely Barb had ravaged it? It would take years for the coral to grow back enough to protect his people--if any of his people survived to see it, of course. They could breathe out of the water, but what if they dried out? Could they? None of them ever stayed out of the water long enough to find out. They never left the reef. The reef was safe.

 _Was_ safe. Past tense.

Trollex threw himself into the wall again. His shoulder burned in protest. Someone banged against the door. "Shut up in there!

"You shut up!" Trollex snapped back, voice glitching in his emotion. He got no response, so he started to slam into the wall again, but...

Ah, who was he kidding? He couldn't get out of here. And even if he could, what would he do then? He had already failed his people.

Slowly, he sunk to the ground, wiping away tears he hadn't noticed form in his eyes. "Some king I am," he muttered to himself. "I couldn't even pretend to fight back."

Music echoed down the hallway, a riff that sounded similar to the song Barb has played to demonstrate her power. Or maybe all rock sounded the same to Trollex? 

It didn't matter anyway.

He felt empty. Emptier than ever. He wanted to sing, to hum, to comfort himself, but he couldn't think of a tune. He couldn't find the sound of the synth that was usually constant in the back of his mind. He couldn't find his music. Barb had stolen his music, _their_ music.

He curled up, wrapping his tail around himself, scratching at his arms. His music was gone. His people were gone. His home was gone.

For once, in the comfort of being alone, he allowed himself to cry.

**Author's Note:**

> i see this is the level i've stooped to. anyway i have a vague idea of a contiuation so let me know if y'all wanna see that but for now i've leave this marked as a one-shot


End file.
